Kevin Cooper

The two worlds that absorb me most met in 1989.

While travelling, the opportunity to put artwork on surfboards arose at the Hot Buttered surfboard factory in Auckland, N.Z. This was the beginning of my career in the surfboard industry. Thanks to Iain ‘Ratso’ Buchanan I was able to return to the Hot Buttered factory for many summer seasons and gain more experience spraying surfboards.

From thriving at art in school, to a career spraying surfboards both in Cornwall (U.K) and overseas, I have been drawing, airbrushing, designing, cutting stencils and popping the lids off paint tins, all the while soaking up many creative offerings. For a long time surfing and travelling governed my spirit and I was never in one place long enough to produce artwork outside of surfboards to return my interest.

In 2005 serendipity led to an afternoon with a camera which turned to a zeal for photography and design that prompted my ninth visit to New Zealand. This time to attend a graphic design course and achieve a ‘Diploma with Merit’ plus a ‘Highly Commended in Design’ award from an industry panel.

In 2009 I returned to Cornwall with new skills and set-up Sleepless ink. It was an idea to corral my creative pursuits and let them thrive under one name. The idea was rewarded when the CEO of Fat Face spotted my work on a restaurant wall and contacted me. This led to designing a summer season of T-shirts for Fat Face, as well as being included in a national art project and gaining publicity in local newspapers, Devon and Cornwall Life, national surf magazines and Loaded. Since then I have enjoyed several private and company commissions, plus being well received by galleries.

I continue to surf, spray surfboards, travel and enjoy the ever morphing creative itch.

I look forward to continued interest and development in both art & photography.

Kevin Cooper

Studio

Graphic Illustration

A combination of drawing and design work to create pieces for limited and open print runs. The subject matter can vary but I frequently hone in on surfing, enjoying a wealth of experience being a surfer, both in the water and in the surfboard (airbrush/graphics) industry.

From working with surfboards and in graphic design I have gained techniques to create a process that uses drawing, painting, printing and software elements to produce digital collage pieces to go to print and into frames and onto walls. If there is a print you are interested in, contact me directly: sleeplessink@yahoo.com

Collage / Mixed Media

For collage work I source text and images from old books, maps, magazines, packaging etc. I often scan and print my findings onto a variety of papers. This is followed by cutting, tearing and arranging the pieces to create layers and make a collage to print, draw and paint onto. This is an enjoyable process and the hunt for usable media keeps my eye keen for snippets to use every day, everywhere.

Photography

I have enjoyed photography since 2005, as a keen enthusiast, product photographer, while also producing my personal prints. My camera is with me at all times, I love finding moments of light, people, landscape or seascapes that somehow fit in a composition that can go to print, or be used in my illustration or collage work.

The majority of my time is spent on the coast, of which there is plenty around Cornwall – the beaches, harbours, sea and surf, as well as the life in a seaside town, from the wet and windy empty streets of winter, to the tourists that visit in summer. Every now and then an overseas trip is enjoyed, or short break to the countryside or city.

I print my photographs on archival 310gsm soft textured paper using the best inks. The texture in the paper coupled with the slight grain I shoot with lends a pleasing vintage quality to each print.

Most of the photographs on the site can go to print. If you are interested in a print, please contact me directly: sleeplessink@yahoo.com